Smart move: PCA coach's brother named Golden State head coach

Wednesday

DOVER — All Herb Smart could say when he found out his brother, Keith Smart, had been named head coach of the National Basketball Association's Golden State Warriors was, "It was well overdue."

Keith Smart was officially named to the post Monday after serving seven years as an assistant with the Warriors. Herb Smart lives in Dover and is the head coach of his own basketball team, the Portsmouth Christian Academy girls varsity squad.

Keith Smart, 46, is perhaps best known for his college basketball playing days at Indiana University. He hit the game-winning shot with five seconds to play in the 1987 NCAA men's championship game to help the Hoosiers beat Syracuse, 74-73. He was named Final Four MVP.

Keith played briefly in the NBA with the San Antonio Spurs, and six years in the old Continental Basketball League as well as the now defunct World Basketball League. In 2002, he finished the season as interim coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers, going 9-31. He joined Golden State as an assistant in 2003, a position he held until he was tabbed Monday as the team's head coach, replacing Don Nelson, the NBA's winningest coach who resigned the same day.

"He's paid his dues," said Herb, 41, who shares the same birthday with his brother, Sept. 21. "He's got a fairly good group. I'm not going to say they're going to go out and win the West. But they weren't going to win the way they were playing in the NBA. They played run and gun, no defense whatsoever. (Keith) has always been a defensive-minded guy. You've got to keep scoring relatively low. If you're giving up 25 points a quarter, it's tough to win. A lot of these guys are a year out of college and they don't have the tools to play defense. He has to teach them defense."

Golden State went 26-56 last year during an injury-riddled season and last made the playoffs in 2007, pulling one of the biggest upsets in NBA history. They stunned No. 1 seeded Dallas in the first round as the eighth-seed, before losing to the Utah Jazz in the Western Conference semis.

Herb says he talks with his brother and indeed, brothers, on a regular basis. He also has two younger brothers. The brothers get together every summer for a vacation with their families in Hilton Head, S.C.

The Smart boys grew up in Baton Rouge, La. Keith and Herb both played junior college basketball in Kansas, at different times. Keith starred at Garden City Community College before moving on to Indiana to play for Bob Knight. Herb played at Colby Community College and ended up being recruited to play for the University of Southern Maine, graduating in 1995. He moved to Dover in 1997 where he lives with his wife Tara Raftery-Smart and their children, Devon (12) and Jadyn (8). Herb works for Staples Inc. in Lawrence, Mass., as a business development manger. He was named coach of the PCA girls team before the 2009-10 season, guiding the Eagles to a 15-5 record and a berth in the Class S playoff quarterfinals.

The two brothers talk a lot of basketball, but Herb concedes it is Keith who supplies the know how.

"I actually ask him for advice," he said. "He's always had a wealth of knowledge, personal or sports related. He's been that rock for me to lean on."

With the Warriors playing most of their games on the West Coast and Herb coaching the PCA team, there will be little opportunity, if any, to see the Warriors play. He said he will have to convince his wife they need to get the NBA Package (a cable TV network that shows all the NBA games), so he can follow Keith's team. The Warriors are scheduled to visit the Boston Celtics on Friday, March 4, 2011.

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